Pursuits of Clarity
by Faselowne
Summary: The dilemma started with their differences, but not even that could prepare Han and Cassie for the hell they'd soon put each other through. Takes place after Fast Five/Tokyo Drift. T for language/content. Rating WILL go up. HanOC. ARCHIVED.
1. What You Started

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Fast and the Furious franchise or any of the characters within it. Also, I do not own the song which my title is based upon, which is "Pursuits of Clarity" by DJ Mitsu ft. Agap. Great song, you should check it out._

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><p><strong><span>Pursuits of Clarity<span>**

**Chapter 1**

It was any other Saturday night in the deepest parts of the Tokyo underground. A close collection of flashing neon lights seemed to dance around in the cool, night sky outside, as a rush of air came through the large car garage. Populated as usual, the place was overrun with anyone who had a peaked interest in auto-related activity, ranging from jail-bait schoolgirls to middle-aged wannabe gangsters who were hoping to get lucky.

Han leaned against his Nissan. Sighing, he chomped off a good amount of his pocky stick, catching a flirty glance from a blonde bombshell, who was strutting along with her equally scantily-clad friends. He smiled to himself as he measured her figure...he was satisfied with what he saw. Maybe he'd get at her later.

"Ay, Han!" It was that damn southern accent.

Han rolled his eyes and tilted his head back to meet a grinning Sean. Neela, Twinkie, and some girl followed close behind.

"Yo," he greeted, briefly eying the new chick, whose hair was a tussle of short black strands and chocolate-like highlights, and eyes were a dark shade of hazel. He noticed that she was trying to stay out of his sight behind Twink. Han was puzzled by that behavior. What was she, a 12-year old? Well, at least that's how she was acting.

He nodded at Sean. "What's up? Need something?"

"You know what the routine is, man! Don't try to blow us off," Twinkie interjected, smirking at Han's aloofness. "Oh, and this is my little sis, Cassie," he said, pulling the quiet girl next to him. "Cassie, this is Han."

Han met her with a half-smile and she did the same.

"She'll be staying with the fam for a little while," Twinkie explained. "You guys will probably have to get used to seeing each other...cuz I swore to babysit." At that moment, Han caught Cassie cutting her eyes at her brother.

"This your first time in Tokyo?" Han asked her, right before tossing a portion of a poppy stick into his mouth.

"Obviously," she replied, receiving a stunned look from Han. "Sir..." she quickly added.

He raised his eyebrows and she turned around abruptly to follow her brother. It was only five minutes in and he could already tell this girl was going to become increasingly annoying.

Han stood up and tossed the remains of his snack into a nearby trash stand.

_Smart-ass._

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><p>Han couldn't help but steal several looks at Twinkie's little sister from a distance. Even with her obvious attitude problems, he had to admit that she was anything but ugly. For one, he liked that she had a reasonable amount of meat on her bones, and the fact that she looked pretty convincing in that plaid-mini skirt of hers. The way she was sitting next to Twink on his car wasn't helping either...<p>

She seemed to notice that he was staring at her.

"Problem?"

"Isn't it past your bedtime?" He walked towards her, matching her rude nature.

Cassie cocked her head to the side. "Ha. I don't have a curfew."

Twinkie turned to her, giving her a crazy look. "Uh, yeah you do. You're just lucky that I got you an access pass from parental control...as long as you don't fuck up."

Groaning, Cassie hopped off the car. "Whatever the hell that means."

He stared at her, serious with what he was saying. "Don't act like you don't know. Don't fuck it up and we'll be tight."

Cassie sighed at him. "Okay, great. I'm gonna take a look around." She turned away, waving them off. "Deuces."

Twinkie frowned as she wandered off, and shook his head. "I'm real sorry, Han. She can be a pain in the ass."

"I noticed." Han sat beside him, popping another snack into his mouth. "She always like that?"

"Shit, more than I'd like." Twinkie ran a hand through his cornrows.

"That's gonna be a problem."

"Uh, yeah, I'll try to keep her out of your way," Twink answered quickly.

"...and out of my parties," Han added. "She looks like a cockblock."

Twink chuckled at Han's assertiveness. "Man, she _is_ a cockblock. Like I said, I'ma _try _to keep her under the radar. It'll be better for everyone."

"I'd appreciate that," Han nodded, looking satisfied.

"...but I've got some errands to run." Twinkie slid off the car and shot Han a desperate look. "This is gonna sound like some bullshit, but I need a third eye...if you know what I'm sayin'..."

Han stopped chewing and raised an eyebrow. "Really Twink?"

Twink raised his hands defensively. "Look my dude, I'm not tellin' you what to do, I just-"

"Do I look like a nanny to you? You should have left the kid at home."

"Aw, come on Han. I'll be gone an hour, tops. I just don't want her to do something stupid."

After giving it a thought, he didn't see the harm. "Alright...but what do I get outta this?"

"We'll be homies for life...and I think I've got a McDonald's coupon back at my pad," Twinkie laughed, happy with Han's compromise.

Han mocked Twinkie's laugh, but changed his face abruptly. "Get out of here."

A wide grin crept onto Twink's face. "Thanks man!"

Han watched Twink strut off, charismatically swinging his arms over two random girls. He smirked and tossed another piece into his mouth.

He chose to look at the bright side – at least this would kill some time.

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><p><em>AN: This is a total reboot of CrazyUnexpectedMine. I know there were quite a few of you who enjoyed it, but when I read over what I had written from when I was fifteen, I face-palmed. I'm so embarrassed. Everything was so unbalanced and unrefined. Cassie was a flaring Mary-Sue...and there were so many plot holes and the most random shit going on. Since this is going to be a complete overhaul, it's likely that I will discontinue the original. Forgive me...but I'm just not satisfied with it. I'm not happy with where it started and where it was going. However, I will keep the original up as a remembrance of the stories within a clueless teenage girl's mind and as a rough draft for this reboot. Oh, and I'm 19 now...so I hope you can understand my SHAME. Now with that being said, I can't guarantee that this will better than the original for everyone. But now, I've learned many things about writing and I've matured a bit, in both understanding my flaws and recognizing what I need to improve in, as well as establishing what I'm good at. I feel comfortable enough to redo this, as it's a pretty good step to get back into the habit of writing...not to mention great practice! Nonetheless, thank you to those who stuck with the story even to its unfortunate closing. Hopefully, this rewrite will be a vast improvement for you. At least this first chapter wasn't as corny as the original...I hope._


	2. All Of The Lights

_Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters from the Fast and the Furious franchise. I only own my original character, Cassie._

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 2<span>  
><strong>**All Of The Lights  
><strong>

It didn't occur to her until now that she didn't know where she was.

Cassie looked around, feeling completely lost in the line-up of vehicles and loud activity. She had initially walked off to avoid taking out her rising irritability on her brother in front of his friend. She had already dug her grave by making a bad impression on Han. Adding to it would just make everything worse.

Why she was rude...she couldn't even fathom. Well, she could come up with a reason later. Or maybe she was trying to be a bitch just to be a bitch, even after she promised herself that she would make it her mission to be more social and less reserved.

_I'm just...I don't even fucking know..._

Sometimes, it was hard to come to terms with the fact that she often contradicted herself.

Pulling at the sleeves of her thin mesh hoodie, her eyes followed the walls of concrete, to the bright lights surrounding her, then to the cars that were being showed off.

_Shiny, _she thought to herself, internally smiling at her childishness. All of it was so new to her and she couldn't help but think of it as her first, though unofficial, underground car show. Back at her school in Atlanta, she knew of guys who had a thing for automobiles. Unfortunately, most of them owned some of the shittiest cars with too much customization under the hood for it to handle.

_I guess the Japanese have money growing on trees..._she thought to herself. All of this was pretty much illegal, right? Where she was from, the cops would have shutdown this kind of stuff only after an hour in. There was no sign of that kind of authority in here.

Cassie was starting to feel anxious. There was a deep worry within her that she stuck out like a sore thumb in a place she didn't belong. Every so often, there would be a random passerby, who would give her a curious stare. Trying to distract herself from the unwanted attention, she glanced at the people trotting past her, noticing that not only guys, but girls were dressed to kill in their nightclub-like clothes. Jamming her hands into the center pocket of her hoodie, she wondered if her attire was unflattering. She certainly didn't want to be caught dead in a tube dress, but she knew her simple thrown-on outfit, with a pair of random flats was pretty funny-looking in a place like this. She ran a finger across her right eyebrow, wishing that she had built up the effort to put on makeup before Twink had driven her here.

There was a tap on her arm, startling Cassie. She whisked around, relieved when she found a beaming Neela.

"I'm guessing that you're lost?" Neela observed, giving her a kind smile.

Cassie wanted to play it off, but at this point she was just thankful that one of Twink's friends had found her. "I'm...I'm sorry, I was being stupid," she explained, trying to avoid Neela's stare. "I kinda walked off without knowing where I was going."

"Don't worry about it. I just thought you seemed a little dazed," Neela nodded, glancing around. "Taking it all in, hm? Are you into cars?"

God, this was embarrassing for her. Neela was being so nice and Cassie didn't want to come off as uninteresting, but what was she supposed to do? Lie?

"...no..." she answered honestly, briefly feeling like a bore.

"Really?" Neela uttered, with a spark of interest. It was more of a reaction than a question. It was obvious that Neela was holding back her surprise. But what she had said was true – Cassie only had a general knowledge of street racing. She was aware that it was illegal and pretty dangerous. That was about it.

"I know, I know. Twink's really into this stuff...I'm just not."

Neela shrugged casually. "That's understandable. Of course I don't expect you to be just like your brother. Everyone has their own thing."

Cassie couldn't think of a good response, so she just forced a smile instead.

_Why am I so awkward?_

Her thoughts halted when there was a commotion behind her and Neela. There was excited yelling in Japanese, as a wave of people headed for the elevators and stairs.

"What's going on?" All the chaos was giving Cassie an unfamiliar rush of adrenaline.

Neela answered by grasping Cassie's wrist and leading her to the crowded elevator just before them. "It's a drift race. Let's see it before it ends."

As she was dragged to the lift, Cassie glanced around in all her panic and excitement, only for it to briefly stop when she spotted Han, who casually walking in another direction with a snack occupying his hands – and watching her. Cassie couldn't help but feel slightly intimidated as the elevator doors slid shut.

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><p>They got off the elevator, with Neela once again leading Cassie by the hand, who was trying her best not to slip on the concrete. "This is where the race usually ends, so we'll be able to determine the winner." Cassie could barely focus on what her new friend was saying; there was so much going on around them that she didn't know what to think of it. Everything was happening too fast.<p>

"Here we are." Neela and Cassie came to a stop with the rest of the crowd at the top of the garage. There was a large circle of people, with quite a few holding up their camera phones to record the action. Some were leaning against the concrete railing while others were standing with their clique, eager to see who would come out triumphant. Cheers erupted from the crowd as the cars came into sight, and were approaching the unsanctioned finish line.

Cassie stared in awe. It was only seconds before somebody had reached the cluster and won the race. To her amazement, the one who stepped out of the car was Sean Boswell – the "Drift King" Twinkie had introduced to her from before. She watched as Neela trekked towards her boyfriend, wearing a huge grin. They locked into a deep kiss, celebrating his victory. Cassie peered at the embarrassed runner-up in amusement, as he handed a pink piece of paper to Sean and began his walk of shame.

Cassie gave a small, joyful laugh, and found herself to be inspired. It was fascinating. Sure, she never really understood why people like Twink were _obsessed _with their automobiles, but if this kind of thing was the reason, she was down for it. She didn't know how to race, but just experiencing it was already exhilarating within itself. Now she understood what Sean's title stood for.

Running a hand through her hair, Cassie gave herself an opportunity to appreciate the refreshingly cool night air. It was really something that she looked forward to savoring from now on.

Then Cassie caught sight of Han, only this time he was tending to his own business. He was preoccupied with his phone, occasionally looking up to share kisses with the pretty blonde girl on his arm.

Cassie sized him up for the first time, observing every little aspect of his physique. Her eyes lingered from his feathered, raven hair that barely went past his neck, to the lightly tanned skin that was underneath that fitted, white short-sleeved V-neck of his, then to his costly-looking denim jeans and Converse sneakers. Out of all that though, what she retained the most were his eerily, dark brown eyes.

She felt so shallow for admitting it...but he was incredibly good-looking.

For a moment, Cassie slightly regretted her behavior from earlier. Twinkie had been chatting her up about how prestigious this Han was, to the point where it sounded like classic ass-kissing to her. By the time Twinkie was done talking her ear off, Cassie had become internally annoyed and had cringed at the thought of meeting the guy. She had prematurely, and wrongly, judged him to be an egotistical douche...but hell, he did he look like one. With a demeanor like that, how could he not be? Could she really hold herself entirely responsible? She peeped over at the woman kissing Han. She figured he probably got a lot of that.

Snapping herself out of her thoughts, Cassie refocused and decided to stop standing around and congratulate Sean, along with Earl, Reiko, and her brother. For now, she diverted her attention from Han to the group, concluding that she shouldn't waste her time thinking about a man she barely, and quite frankly, didn't really want to know.

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><p>"Mornin'."<p>

"Hey," Cassie greeted Twinkie, who was sporting a plaid black and white shirt, simple black jeans, and a pair of Air Jordans. He was busy digging into a bowl of cereal and browsing through his phone. She yawned and plopped down in the seat across from her brother at the kitchen table. She laid her head down on the cold glass surface, drowsy from a restless night of sleep in her new bed.

"You look like a troll doll," Twinkie commented, regarding the hair on Cassie's head, which had taken a hilariously odd, upward shape.

"Whatever. Thanks for your concern," she uttered sarcastically, her cheek still against the table. "I couldn't sleep for shit last night."

"You'll get used to it," Twinkie said before taking another bite. "I gotta go get my hair cut today. Tired of these braids. Gonna head to Han's afterward."

Cassie sat up. "You're gonna get a buzz cut? Here?"

He frowned at her. "We're not in Alaska, girl. They've got people here who cut hair. You just gotta have some common sense about the city." He finished his cereal. "And I'm getting an edge-up not a buzz cut."

Wasn't that kind of the same thing? "Okay, that's cool...I guess." An awkward silence came over them. Cassie thought of asking Twink where their father was, but remembered that him being a sergeant meant he lead day-long camp classes on the military base. They wouldn't see him from dawn till dusk – not that it entirely bothered her. That just meant less parenting and a little more freedom and independence for herself...which was ironically in an unfamiliar environment.

Twinkie looked up from his phone. "If you want, I can swing by after my cut and we can go to Han's place. I need to make some modifications on my baby." She realized he was referring to his trippy, green van, or at least that's how she saw it. All the colors on that vehicle made her feel a bit dizzy when in sight.

Cassie contemplated it, weighing the option of being bored and alone in the apartment, or tagging along with her brother to see friends of his who she barely knew. Of course, she would have liked to see Neela, but she couldn't decide if it was a reason enough to go.

"Um...I've still got some unpacking to do...and I was planning to look up the train system and learn some routes." Those were really bad excuses for somebody like Twink, but Cassie figured they were worth something in this instance.

"Alright," Twinkie shrugged, standing up and tossing his cell into his pocket. "I'll be back in the evening probably. If something's up, just shoot me a text." He headed for the door. "See ya."

Cassie heard the door slide shut and click. She shuffled to her room, only to stare at the mess scattered across the floor. Various baggage, tote bags, and carry-ons were spread about, completely zipped open with clothes hanging over them, or partially zipped with stuff falling out. There were assorted things laid all about the edge of her bed in twisted and unflattering forms. This was an unpacking frenzy that she had been responsible for late last night. The mere sight of it now made her uneasy and anxious. She really didn't want to face all of this in the morning.

She reached for her phone and rang her brother, hoping his offer was still up. She had realized that staying home wasn't quite worth it. Maybe going with him would give her a chance to get to know everyone a little better.

Twinkie answered from the other end. "What?"

"I'll go with you right now." She was hoping that he didn't mind. "I'll get ready. It'll take me like five minutes...just wait for me outside!"

"Shit, come on Cassie," Twink groaned, sounding annoyed by her sudden change of mind. "Jesus...I _just_ left..."

She disconnected the call and made a beeline for her room to ransack her luggage. She jumped into a pair of comfortable skinny jeans and pulled on a random graphic tee. The mayhem in her room would just have to be dealt with some other time.

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><p>"Tosh, turn your music down," Han warned loudly from underneath his car on the lift, aggravated by the heavy bass rupturing from the entrance of the garage and into his designated workspace. He was all for bad-ass stereo systems, but with noise as loud as that, his peace of mind was compromised. He was pretty sure that he'd established the ground rules to Toshiro before he started hanging here.<p>

"Can't help it man!" Tosh yelled back. "I need to test my system!"

Han paused for a few seconds, generously giving Tosh time to shut it off. When the music continued, Han set his wrench on the bench next to him, grabbed a hand towel, and headed down to the crew surrounding Tosh at the back of his Mitsubishi. Han leaned against the passenger door wiping grime off of his hands. He studied the faces of Sean, Earl, Reiko, and Neela as they were engrossed with the system inside of the trunk of Tosh's car. _Kids and their toys..._

"Check this shit out...2500 hundred watts of pure sexiness," Tosh bragged, bobbing his head to the loud, foreign rap music. "I can't wait to bump this tomorrow night."

Han swiftly opened the car door, leaned in, and switched the music off. "Test over," he decreed, ignoring the upset look that appeared on Toshiro's face. The group disbanded and continued on with their own activities as Han headed for the stairs to get back to his work.

There was the sound of a car pulling up into the garage, that Han reckoned was Twink's infamous Hulk-mobile. Han watched from under the lift, as Twinkie hopped out of the vehicle.

"That looks real nice man," Tosh greeted, ruffling Twinkie's newly shaved head. "I can focus on that beautiful, brown jawline now."

"Creepy motherfucker..." Twinkie laughed, trying to dodge Tosh's playfulness. Twink couldn't help but grin when everyone else complimented his new look.

Han leaned against the railing of the balcony. "Congrats Twink. You just reached manhood," he teased, receiving a wide smirk from Twinkie. It was then that Han noticed Cassie getting out of the passenger's side, with a messenger bag slung across her shoulder. She stood around looking slightly distant until Neela came up to her and welcomed her warmly.

This couldn't be the best that Twinkie could do in order to keep Cassie out of Han's path. She wasn't his type of girl, considering the negative vibe she gave off. He wanted people who could contribute something worthwhile to his crew. Nothing emerged from her but characteristics that he had loathed for a long time: that being crudeness and detachment. The last thing he wanted was her hanging around here just because she was the little sister of somebody he worked with.

For a millisecond though, Cassie looked up at Han and they shared a gaze. To Han's surprise, she shot him her familiar half-smile...but before he could even decide to return the favor, she quickly turned away, following Neela and the others to the array of couches in the corner of the garage.

This was just another affirmation for Han on why he didn't like the majority of high school girls; they were too weird and inconsistent for his own taste.

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><p><em>AN: Hey guys and thank you for reading. I really appreciate the feedback from the last chapter, and if you would like, leave some for this chapter as well. Also, keep in mind that Toshi (or in my dub, Tosh/Toshiro) is the guy Twinkie greets at the underground garage in the beginning of the movie. On another note, please be aware that the rating of this story may go from Teen to Mature in later chapters, mostly because of the recurrent bad language and content up ahead. Have a happy weekend!_


	3. Meet Me Halfway

_Disclaimer: I do not own any character from the Fast and the Furious franchise. I only own my original characters._

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><p><strong><span>Chapter 3<span>  
><strong>**Meet Me Halfway**

Sitting indian style on one of the worn-out couches in the garage, Cassie tried her best to remember everyone near her. It was terrible how she had a tendency to forget new names.

There was Earl, the British guy who was now exchanging dirty looks with his 'girlfriend'. Cassie scrambled her brain for her name...Reiko was it? She was the one Cassie had a language barrier with. Then there was the clean-shaven Asian guy named Toshiro, who she figured was from somewhere in North America. And of course there was Sean, the guy with a southern accent thicker than tar, as well as the boyfriend of Neela, who was becoming Cassie's personal favorite. Cassie looked around for Twinkie, but he wasn't in sight. She concluded that he was probably near the dock outside.

"What's up, newbie?" Tosh met her with a baiting grin and obnoxiously chewed on some gum.

"Nothing much," she replied, digging through the messenger bag in her lap. She pulled out her Sudoku puzzle book and a pencil. "It's really different here, but I kind of like it."

"You ready for school?" Sean asked, then he and Tosh snickered in unison.

Cassie caught onto their laugh fest quite fast: it probably meant absolute misery at her new school.

"Not really."

"You're like the new Sean. You're completely clueless," Tosh chortled, laughing harder when Sean looked at him, slightly agitated when his name was brought up. When his fits of laughter calmed down, he said "We're just messing with ya kid. You'll be fine..." Neela gave her a considerate glance, making Cassie feel less embarrassed.

"I take it that you don't speak fluent Japanese, right?" Earl piped up, then grumbled something in Japanese to Reiko that made her pout.

"I only know a few words," Cassie answered honestly. "I know 'hello', 'goodbye', and 'thank you'. But I'm pretty sure even the way I say it is wrong." She started to wonder how she was going to survive in class without knowing the language.

"They'll give you a bilingual instructor, then," Earl nodded. "They might even place you in a class for international students for the first semester, where they try to help people like you adjust." He turned to Sean. "Weren't you in one when you first got here?"

"Yeah," Sean said, his head bobbing up and down. "It's not that bad. You'll meet some Americans and some Brits, I think. And a few more from other countries too."

"Oh..." Cassie gave a small smile, feeling a bit relieved from their guidance.

"Where did you say you were from again?" Earl asked, scooting a centimeter away from an annoyed Reiko, who hissed at him in reply.

"Atlanta."

"Nice!" Toshiro yelped, before Earl even had a chance to speak. "I'm from Vegas, but I just love the motherland. My beautiful, beautiful Japan. There's no place like it."

Cassie's attention on Tosh waned as Han settled into the recliner a few paces away from her seat. He rested a beer on the chafed coffee table before him, and opened up a magazine - completely disregarding Cassie's existence.

She frowned, regretting that she gave into smiling at him earlier. This is what usually happened when she habitually crossed anything she decided she would do. She didn't like the guy, but it was so hard to not glance at him every now and then. It was _really_ fucking hard...especially with the way their eyes would meet ever so often.

The others departed to continue on their work with the cars, leaving Cassie and Han to an awkward silence on the couches. Or maybe it was just awkward for Cassie.

Cassie kept peeking at Han from behind her puzzle book. He was calmly flipping through his mag, occasionally reaching for the table to take a swig of his beer. As random as it was, she wondered if he conditioned his hair, and if so, what kind he used. It looked unnaturally silky. Her focus switched to his simple attire, noting his crew neck tee and casual dark-washed jeans.

"Something on my face?"

Cassie jolted at Han's awareness of her lingering stare. He was still looking through his magazine. Flustered, she pretended to go back to her puzzle. "Sorry."

Han closed what he was reading and rested his cheek on his closed fist, as if waiting for something. She could feel his eyes digging into her so hard that she felt she had to speak up.

"I'm sorry about the other night. I was being a bitch. Again, sorry," she blurted out. She had never planned on apologizing to him – until that haunting stare he was giving her.

He smirked and tossed his magazine onto the table. "You're honest." He held his drink in one hand and leaned back a little. "That's good."

She finally gathered enough confidence to raise her head to look him in the eye. "So...are we...?"

"Are we cool?" he finished for her, propping his feet onto the table. "I suppose," he shrugged.

Another minute of silence fell over them, to the point where Cassie became weary of it.

"Um, so are you from around here?"

"Obviously not," Han taunted jokingly. Without thinking, Cassie beamed.

"So then...where are you from?"

"The south side," he quipped, partially dodging her question.

"Of America?" Cassie guessed. She had already figured out that he wouldn't give her an exact answer.

"Don't I sound American?" He shook his head at her and chuckled.

She rested her index finger to her lips and thought for a moment. "You mean the deep south? Like Louisiana or Alabama? Maybe Texas?" When she didn't receive anything but a bored expression from him, she tried to go on. "Well, you could be from Canada..."

His right eyebrow perked up and he gave her a blank stare. Han then scanned around the garage, as if he were ignoring her. Though she didn't want to acknowledge it, Cassie had to admit that she gave a dumb answer – but it still didn't give him a reason to act like an ass.

_All I wanted to know was where he's from..._

Hell, she wasn't a whiz at guessing games. What more did he expect?

"Anyway, what's your reason for barging into Tokyo uninvited?" he probed, changing the subject.

She tried to hide a frown, once again feeling intimidated. "I'm just staying with Twink and Dad. For now."

"It wasn't your decision to come here, then," he presumed, studying her intently.

She swallowed, not liking where this conversation was headed. "Um...right."

"What, are you in some kind of trouble?" His eyes were still fixed on her.

"No." She quickly glanced down in discomfort. Cassie started to feel as if she couldn't breathe. Her anxiety was kicking in again.

"Are you lying?"

"No...I don't have a reason to." She really didn't. Cassie knew he was referring to her close-call argument with Twink at the underground garage the other night. She tried to take to deep breaths without making it look obvious to Han. It was time to calm down...this wasn't that serious.

"Huh." Han paused and leaned further back into the recliner. He gazed at her. "You're a sneaky one. The quiet ones always are."

She didn't know how to take that. How long had he been examining her to come up with something like that? He didn't know her personally, if at all.

"I just like to keep to myself. I don't think that counts as sneaky," she managed to let out. She could feel the anxiety dissipating slowly. "And you're the one the talk," Cassie murmured, but loud enough for him to catch.

"I consider myself to be pretty social. You, on the other hand, watch me and you never say a word," Han uttered impassively. "You let your eyes do the talking. What's your motive?"

It seemed that he was in the mood to play Twenty Questions with Cassie, who didn't bode too well with it. But at least talking to him was, as strange as it sounded, becoming a bit more comfortable. "I don't have one," she countered. "Don't act like I'm the only one who does it."

He smiled and shook his head, deflecting her statement. "You really are a little smart-ass. It was irritating the first time. There's no need for it again."

"I was just answering your question."

"You answered it with a challenge. That's not a way to speak to your elders."

Her eyes widened as she was distracted by his statement. "You're really that old?"

"No, no," he brushed off, wearing a small smile.

"How old are you then?" she inquired, wanting to pull more information out of him. Cassie searched his blank face, in hopes of getting at least a tiny hint at some point.

"I'm sixty-five," he replied deviously. Cassie rolled her eyes and sighed. "Or I could be however old you want me to be."

She fixed her eyes at him, slightly amused by the banter they'd engaged in. "Twenty-one?"

"Not quite."

"Forty?"

"Heh. No."

"Eighteen?"

Han sipped from his bottle. "I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that estimation is not your strong point. Tell me what it's like failing math class."

Surprisingly, that stung. And _she _was the smart-ass? Cassie had lost count at the number of times Han had subtly insulted her. He probably thought she was too dumb to realize it. She wasn't a genius, but oh, how wrong he was. If only he knew.

"You're such a charming young man." Sarcasm coated her tone. "I'm sure all the ladies drool over your handsome looks and alluring charm."

"Well, I don't mean to brag," he retorted, so cockily that it almost made Cassie cringe. "but women love an equipped guy."

"Oh, really?" she exhaled, hoping he would slow down with the egotistical talk a bit - for her sake.

"It's a gift. Sometimes you have to flaunt it."

"That's a corny thing to say. Especially for a guy," Cassie scoffed, folding her arms.

"I disagree." He cocked his head to a side and straightened up to reach into his back pocket, revealing a small snack package. He tore it open and flipped a couple of pieces into his mouth.

Cassie watched him in sheer disgust as he caught each bit into his mouth, once again ignoring her. She slouched into her seat.

_Well, that's pretty fucking rude. _

She realized that eventually they would go nowhere with this. On a positive note however, it did pass the time. For Cassie, going back and forth was weirdly aggravating and entertaining all at the same time. She couldn't deny that he was clever. Clever and good-looking...probably the most dangerous combination known to man – or to her at least.

"It all depends on your behavior," he stated, idly gazing at his sneakers.

"My behavior?" Cassie was confused. "Wait, what are we talking about again?"

"It's all relevant. Just know that I'll be watching you."

She frowned at him, not knowing how to respond.

Han looked like he was about to get up from his seat, but he sat back down as if he forgot something. "Do you have asthma or something?"

There it was again: that uneasy feeling that would take over her when she thought she was cornered. "No," she mumbled. Cassie started to feel a bit light-headed.

"Alright." Han simply shrugged and left the subject alone. He headed for the stairs and back to the car he was working on. Her discomfort faded away.

Cassie would have studied him more, if her brother hadn't called out to her that it was time to go home.

* * *

><p>It was only her first day of school and Cassie had already started her morning off in a bad mood. Twinkie had the nerve to pound on her door to wake her up. She would have appreciated the gesture if he hadn't yelled so loudly from the other side.<p>

Slouching her shoulders, Cassie emerged from her room and into the kitchen, fully clothed in her ironed uniform. Her hair was simply tussled, covering her ears. A pair of lightly worn black high-tops hung from her grasp.

Twinkie snickered at her posture and shook his head in amusement. He continued digging into his plate of scrambled eggs.

"Can't I just wear my own clothes?" she whined, shuffling uncomfortably in her skirt and pulling at the dark sweater over her white, button-up shirt.

He looked at her questioningly. "You've worn a skirt before. What's the deal now?"

Cassie narrowed her eyes at him. "That was a skirt I was comfortable in. This just feels weird."

"Hey, I would feel weird too if I needed to drop a couple of pounds," Twinkie teased, before taking another forkful of egg.

Cassie was taken aback. She thought she looked pretty decent for her age and height. She slugged Twink's shoulder quite hard, almost making him choke on his breakfast. "Dipshit," she added.

"Hypocrite," he murmured, rubbing the spot where he was hit. Cassie shot him a warning glance. "Cass, I'm joking. Chill the fuck out."

It sure didn't sound like a joke. Grumbling, Cassie flopped herself onto a dining chair, and clumsily pulled on her shoes.

"Hey, you won't be able to wear those in class," he said, checking his watch.

Her head perked up as she tied her shoelaces. "Why?"

"I mean, you can walk to school and from school in 'em. But inside they give you another pair to walk around in," he explained, focusing on his food rather than Cassie's annoyed stare. "It's a Japanese thing."

"Great," she groaned, picking up her fork to devour what Twinkie had put out for her. Though she was thankful that Twink was generous enough to give her rides to school whenever he could, she was bothered. She still had to learn how to get to school on her own for when he wasn't around. She still had to learn Japanese, or at least enough, to even marginally pass her classes. She wished that Twink and his crew hadn't already graduated, so that she would have already had some companions in school.

The future was certainly a blur, but deep, down inside, Cassie hoped that things would eventually become second-nature.

* * *

><p>"Want me to drop you home, or you wanna hang at Han's?" Twinkie asked Cassie, soon after he'd picked her up from school. "If you've got homework-"<p>

"I'll do my homework at Han's, I guess," she murmured, looking out the passenger side's window. She turned to her brother. "Do you have your laptop?"

He glanced at her suspiciously. "Yeah. Why?"

"I want to borrow it for my assignment."

He looked her up and down, eyebrows raised. "You said they translated your homework. You don't need no freakin' Google Translate, 'cause it's not gonna help-"

"Look, I just want to use it for reference." She stared at him in desperation. "Please?"

Twink still didn't seem to be convinced. "You'll be careful with it?"

She nodded. "I promise."

He focused on the road again. "Alright. It's under the backseat behind me."

Cassie stretched over and retrieved Twink's high-end laptop, as he pulled into Han's garage, where the crew, minus Sean and Neela, was already taking care of business. Both of them got out of his car, and Twink headed to the toolbox and greeted the others, while Cassie decided to chill on one of the sofas inside.

She seated herself, pulled out her homework from her book bag, and switched on Twink's laptop, hoping that this wouldn't take more than an hour of her time. When she had gotten at least a quarter-way through her comprehension assignment, Twinkie plopped down into a seat and slid a soda across the worn table to Cassie.

"Thanks."

"Mmhm." He gulped down a large amount of his cola.

They both lounged in silence until Han approached them.

"Cassie."

"Um...yes?" She looked up at Han. He was clutching a broom in his right hand, and holding in his other, a small round spray bottle, halfway filled with what seemed to be water.

"My place isn't a study hall," Han said flatly, fixing his eyes on her.

Cassie was at a loss for words. She glanced at Twinkie, not knowing what to think, say, or do. Twink rose from the couch. "I...uh...yeah. I got...okay, I got nothing to do with this." He quickly turned away and sprinted outside, scratching his head. She watched him leave and turned back around to Han, who was still staring at her blankly.

"Um..." Her eyes darted in every direction but his.

"If you want to hang around here you'll have to pitch in," Han affirmed, balancing the broom until it was straight. "I need you to clean. You can do whatever you want later."

Cassie let out a nervous laugh and tried to go back to her homework. "You've got a strange sense of humor."

Han stepped forward. To her dismay, he casually pressed down on the nozzle of the bottle, allowing the clear liquid, which was indeed water, to be spritzed all over Cassie's face. She jumped off of the couch in shock, desperately trying to wipe the droplets away with the sleeves of her school sweater.

"Man, what the fuck?" she shrieked in disbelief.

Han raised the bottle and observed it. "Never thought it would come in handy." Cassie stared at him, her mouth slightly open. "I figured I'd need something to keep you in line."

She furrowed her eyebrows and glared at him, not saying a word.

"Well, get started," Han shrugged, waiting for her to begin. When she didn't move, he walked closer to her and aimed the bottle at her face once more, spraying her without a care.

"Okay! Okay! Shit!" Cassie lurched forward and furiously snatched the broom away from Han. "What the fuck is your problem?"

Han blinked at her. "You should stop wasting time. I ain't got all day."

Cassie shot him a dirty look, resisting the urge to flip him off. Instead, she swung around and dashed in another direction, hoping to put a great distance between the two of them.

* * *

><p><em>AN (5/29/11): I composed a nice little edit of the last portion, if you're wondering, so the chapter is a bit different from what I uploaded yesterday. On the same note, I changed the summary! Woot, I finally came up with one I liked! Also, I want to kindly thank everyone who reviewed and has kept reviewing, I apologize for not giving appreciation earlier. I know that we're off to a slow start in this story, but I'm trying to be in character with everyone (except Tosh, b/c he only nodded his head in the movie), and flesh everything I've planned out in a clear way. Anyway, thank you for reading and I wish you a great day (or night)!_


	4. Sooner Or Later

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Fast and the Furious franchise or any of its characters. I own Cassie and that's it...sadly._

* * *

><p><strong><span>Chapter 4<span>  
>Sooner Or Later<strong>

Cassie walked off in a huff, not sure of where she was going or if she was going to do what Han wanted. To her, this was not only bullshit, but completely random on Han's part. She thought he was okay with starting over with her – and then he pulls this stunt. What was the point of it? She wasn't bothering anyone, she was minding her own business, and Twinkie had stuff he needed to take care of here. Why should _she _be required to "pitch in"? Han should have been able to tell she wasn't into cars...and the best thing that he can tell her to do is play janitor? Wasn't this country supposed to be democratic?

_He's probably a fuckin' sexist...with some twisted superiority complex_, she groaned internally. _He can kiss my ass_.

She stopped in her tracks, deciding she wasn't going to take Han's shit. He wasn't the boss of her. She tossed the broom across the floor, vowing to stay home from now on. Cassie swung around, only to stagger back nervously when she found Han was right behind her.

Cassie straightened up and cut her eyes at him, expecting him to say something smart. He just flipped another snack into his mouth.

"It's your choice," he simply said.

She looked at him in disgust. "My choice? Really? I don't remember volunteering for you to throw water in my face!"

"It did get your attention." He merely gazed at her and rustled through his snack pack, as if trying to find the last piece. "I thought there wasn't more to you, but I was wrong. The quiet ones really are something else."

Now he wasn't making any sense to her, which signaled to Cassie that it was an opportune time to split. She shoved past him and headed for the open garage door, ignoring Sean, Earl, and the others who were pretending that they weren't listening in on Cassie and Han's ordeal.

"I'll pay you," Han called after her. Cassie came to a halt and rolled her eyes. She whirled around to acknowledge his offer.

"I could earn money somewhere else...you know, where the owner _isn't _a complete dick," she answered back, saucily putting her hands on her hips. She was ready for whatever other tricks were up this guy's sleeve.

"Use some common sense, Cassie," Han said calmly, as he proceeded to ball the empty package and toss it behind him. He ignored her scowl at his carelessness. "Nobody's gonna want to hire a foreigner who doesn't know a fraction of Japanese."

She could feel her face getting hot. "I-I know some of it!"

"No, you don't." Han lazily blinked at her, convinced that he was one-hundred percent right.

Cassie tried her best to not look defeated when she recognized that he made sense...but so what? Maybe she just wouldn't get a job. Then again, she would have like to earn some cash. Her part-time job back home made her miserable, but her misery seemed somewhat worth it when she received her check every week. Cassie decided to compromise with herself. For one, she could gain some independence and not have to beg Twinkie or her dad for money when she needed it.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You'll pay me hourly?"

"Yeah."

"How much? Minimum wage, right? Seven bucks an hour."

Han smirked and slightly rolled his eyes, jamming his hands into his jeans pockets. "More like yen. I'll convert it later...how about three an hour?"

She sneered at him and glanced around in utter disbelief. "What the fuck, three dollars? This isn't some sweatshop!"

Han casually shrugged, looking bored. "That's my price."

"Seven," she protested, staring him down.

One side of his mouth curled upward. "Sounds like a demand. I make the decisions around here, miss thing. Three-fifty."

"Six-fifty!"

Han thought for a moment. "How about six even?" He studied her pouting face. "I'm being pretty generous. Take it or leave it."

Cassie sulked, wondering how she had gotten herself into this crap. It was as if she was being _brainwashed _into this. She could just simply tell him 'no' and move on with her life, but for some strange reason she felt so tempted to give in. Maybe...she just wanted to see more of Han?

She mentally slapped herself. Where the fuck had that come from? This guy was a compilation of everything she hated, and she wanted to see more of him? Cassie scolded herself for thinking like a hormonal teenager. No matter how painfully attractive this guy was, it didn't excuse the fact that he thought he could just tell her what to do. That was a complete turn-off in Cassie's book.

"It just doesn't seem fair," she finally said.

Han raised an eyebrow. "Fair?"

"You heard me, you asshole. Why give me the bottom rung? I'm not your bitch," she avoided his eyes for a moment, feeling a bit depressed. Cassie was now reconsidering her thoughts; she should have just told him to fuck off.

She looked up and realized that the lines in Han's face had softened as he watched her.

"You're no one's bitch," he remarked, in a matter-of-fact manner. "Don't be so harsh to yourself. Why would I think that?"

They shared a look, as Han scoped her up and down with his dark eyes. Her heart rate slightly quickened and a warmth spread across her cheeks. Cassie thought it was strange that he would claim something like that...because his actions told her otherwise. She was resisting the urge to smile or even burst out something illegible with the way he was staring at her. Cassie felt a bit dazed during the hush between them.

_If he didn't have such interesting eyes, I would gouge them out_. Cassie grimaced internally...well that was a bit too violent.

Han was the first to break their silence. "I think it's a pretty reasonable area for you since you don't mess with cars. Am I right?"

"Yeah," she mumbled. Twink must have told him. "That doesn't mean I have to be your maid."

"I'm not asking you to scrub the floors with a toothbrush," he chuckled. "If you knew anything about my world, you'd know the kind of cleaning up I mean. Things get pretty messy around here, and sometimes everyone's so engaged in their own work, that there aren't enough helping hands to finish the job."

Cassie didn't know why, but she wanted to take a leap of faith and take his word for it. He sounded genuine enough...she might need the money...and she'd get to see the crew more often. However, Cassie would review these reasons and wonder if she was trying to make excuses for herself to work here.

"Fine." She swallowed, hoping she wasn't stepping into a ring of fire. _Just go with the flow_.

Han looked slightly surprised, which quickly changed to satisfaction. He nodded. "Alright then. You're hired." He flashed her a sleazy grin, which she chose to blatantly ignore.

"I guess I should pick up the broom then..." she muttered, looking past him at what was spread about on the concrete ground. "...and your litter."

"Nah, worry about that later," he uttered, walking towards her. "You can just arrange some stuff in the tool room. It's pretty straight forward." He walked past her, signaling for her to follow. "I'll show you where it's at."

Oh, so _now _he was choosing to be friendly. Cassie exhaled and unwillingly tagged along.

_He better pay me..._

* * *

><p>Cassie wiped her forehead with the back of her hand, sweaty and exhausted from the heat within the tool room. She had been there for around three hours, organizing screw after screw to other little objects she didn't know the names of – and she still wasn't done. Grabbing the towel Han had given her before, she tried her best to wipe the residue from her hands. She despised the fact that her uniform, even though it was marginally dirty, would require some handiwork to get it out.<p>

"Not bad." Cassie turned her head to meet the voice of Han, who was leaning against the doorway. "You can stop for today."

Cassie let out a breath of relief, flinging the towel across the room and onto a work cart. Han's eyes followed her and he shook his head at her actions, proceeding to lead her out of the room. He pointed at a sink and soap dispenser not too far away. "You can wash your hands there. Nowhere else, okay?"

She nodded and trotted over to the sink, happy that it was finally over. A waterfall of cold water ran over her soapy hands, as she frantically tried to remove the dirt from underneath her nails.

"You're invited."

Cassie looked up, distracted by Han's voice. "Huh?"

"I'm having a get-together here. Since you put in some work, you can hang."

Turning off the faucet and grabbing a paper towel, she peered at him in suspicion. "That's crap. A 'get-together'. You mean a party?"

Han shot her a smug look. "Sure...why not."

"As in a wild party?"

Han shook his head. "My parties are never wild."

"Lies," she accused, receiving a look of amusement from Han. "I see the way you get around. Man-whore."

His eyebrows raised at her and gave her an intense stare. "I'm the guy who pays you. Remember that."

Cassie took a slight step back, regretting what she said. Her and her big mouth. "Sorry...boss," she apologized, searching for a hint of forgiveness in his eyes.

He just stared at her blankly, only to turn and walk off to the main entrance of the garage.

"Um, when do I get paid?" she yelled after Han, right before he stepped out.

"Weekends, if you're on your best behavior," he replied, not even looking back at her.

* * *

><p>"Aw, what's the harm?"<p>

"I...I don't know. It's not my scene, and I barely know anyone..." Cassie complained, slouching against the brick wall just outside of Han's garage. She tried her best to avoid the persuasive glances Neela and Reiko were giving her.

"You're very lucky that Han even welcomed you in." Cassie rose her head to Reiko's unfamiliar English-speaking voice.

"You..uh. You're bilingual?" Cassie asked Reiko, careful to not sound rude or stereotypical.

"Yes, silly," Neela grinned, shaking her head at Cassie. "You just haven't spoken to her enough. Japanese is just her preference."

"Exactly," Reiko nodded in agreement. Her and Neela began to stare at Cassie in unison.

"You've got to come. It's fun," Reiko said, playfully poking Cassie in the elbow. "You can hang with us."

Cassie wished she could just somehow teleport back home so she wouldn't have to give into these two. They were tempting her and it was hard enough to not show it.

"I have nothing to wear." She scoped their expressions, hoping they would accept that excuse.

Neela rolled her eyes. "My goodness, you are something else. You can borrow something of ours."

Cassie groaned. "You guys are skinnier than me. Nothing will fit."

The pair glanced at each other, and gazed at Cassie in amusement. Neela spoke up first. "Woman, are you serious? You are bigger by what? Five pounds? What kind of difference is that?" She looked Cassie up and down, verifying her statement. Cassie just sighed.

Reiko shook her head and got a good grip on Cassie's wrist. "No more excuses. We'll find you something new." She pulled a grumbling Cassie behind her.

"There are a few shops around, so it shouldn't be hard," Neela explained as they walked together. "Besides, your work for Han is being rewarded. Think of it as relaxation..."

"I don't have money," Cassie whined, being reluctantly dragged by Reiko.

"You can pay us back," Neela smiled, patting Cassie's back. "Stop making excuses. You're quite bad at it."

* * *

><p><em>AN: Filler! Anyway, thanks for the reviews from the previous chapter! And if you are keeping up with the story, show that review button some love :) Stay wonderful!_


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